Will Richardson Speaking Topics

• Navigating the Infodemic: Literacy a "Post Fact" World

  What does it mean to be "literate" when everyone is a media outlet? It means our conception of "literacy" is changing. It has to.The explosion of social media and easy to publish-to-the-world tools has been happening for over two decades. And in many ways, that has given voice and reach to many amazing thinkers and doers and creators who we couldn't connect and learn with in the past. But ubiquitous publishing has its downsides. Now, in a world where almost anyone can say anything, fact and truth become less clear. And right now, we are in the midst of an "infodemic" of scary proportions. Every day, more and more misinformation, "fake news," and abject lies are shared online to increasingly larger audiences who are looking to confirm their own biases of how the world should look and operate. If we cannot discern what's true and what is a fact, we are in very serious trouble, as a society, and as a planet. More than at any time in recent history we need the skills, literacies, and dispositions to separate good information, people, and technologies from bad. This session dives into the scale and scope of the Infodemic, the challenges for schools and classrooms, and some tools and strategies to help "vaccinate" ourselves from the harm it causes.

• New Leadership Lenses for a ‘No Normal’ World

  Creating a new future of schooling calls for educators and leaders to see the world as it is, not as it was. It requires understanding new contexts, and building new lenses around vital questions of world, purpose, change, power and our stories. Your communities put trust in your schools’ ability to lead and navigate the volatile, confusing realities, from the pandemic to climate to racial justice, an “infodemic” and economic uncertainty – all on top of the changing learning landscape. Let me push your thinking to embrace the new realities, or lenses, of the post-pandemic world. Each of the lenses will help you frame new questions and conversations that are fundamental to creating an experience of school for kids that will help them move beyond surviving, to thriving in whatever future they inherit.

Regaining Our Bearings: Reimagining the Future in a Post-Pandemic World

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying "The best way to predict the future is to create it." Now, as the lockdowns and quarantines begin finally to ease and our exhaustion mercifully subsides, the most pressing question for schools is what type of future will we create? Will we go back to the time worn practices and pedagogies of the traditional school that are increasingly out of step with the way the world operates today? Or will we see this disruptive, change-filled moment as a chance to recalibrate, to engage in some fearless inquiry and clarify a more relevant, more effective path forward for our kids? This session will focus on some "activities of hope," starting points for understanding the opportunities and challenges ahead, and for creating a solid foundation for reimagining our work in this increasingly complex, no-normal world.

9 BIG Questions for Not Going 'Back to Normal' in Schools

As we begin to see a small light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, the pull to going "back to normal" will become stronger and stronger. But let's remember that "normal" is what caused many of the challenges that we face today: social injustice, income inequality, climate change, rising populism, and information illiteracy. For educators especially, instead of going back, we need to go forward to create schools that are more relevant, more equitable, and more just for all children. To do so requires a deep interrogation of the fundamentals of our work. This keynote will challenge you to grapple with nine crucial questions on a personal level, and to confront a new narrative for educators in this moment of huge disruption and change.

Meeting the Moment with Fearless Inquiry: Using Questions to Design a Relevant and Just Path Forward for Schools

To say that we live in an historic time is an understatement. Arguably, we find ourselves in a “hinge moment,” one of those relatively short periods between eras that is defined by dramatic change and palpable stress. It throws us off our center, and it breaks the narratives we’ve become accustomed to living by. It challenges our understanding of ourselves and our institutions, requiring us to ask and attempt to answer the foundational questions of who we are and what we want to become. In this session, we show how "fearless inquiry" into those questions can be a powerfully effective tool for designing a new experience of schools for students and teachers. steps.